


The Smallest Concern

by lucybeetle



Category: Kamen Rider Amazons (2016)
Genre: Canon-Typical Blood and Gore, F/M, mystical pregnancy?, other warnings detailed within
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 03:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8431009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucybeetle/pseuds/lucybeetle
Summary: When Takai goes missing, Mamoru looks for her; but didn't expect what he found.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, a while ago I wrote a long and rambling Mamoru/Nozomi fic, and after some discussion with guava about what would happen if they were to have a baby, we concluded the result wouldn't be pleasant. I wanted to write a Halloween fic about it, and here's the result. Unfortunately not great; I'm not a very skilled writer, but I hope it's clear all the same from this fic that M's view of the situation may be a little too rosy. (He's a good daddy, though. I promise.)
> 
>  **Warnings** for "mystical pregnancy" (albeit consensual and normal conception) and implied restraint/physical abuse of a pregnant woman.

Mamoru hadn’t seen Takai in weeks.

Maybe she was fine. Maybe she just didn’t want to visit, or couldn’t. She’d said before that no one knew about her coming to see him, and he must never tell anyone else. (Mamoru wondered who she _thought_ he would tell. He rarely saw the extermination team now, except her; and none of the Amazons knew her except Mizusawa.) Maybe Shidou had found out about her going to Mamoru, and told her not to come back. It was even possible that she just didn’t want to be his friend any more. She’d seemed happy enough, last time she came to see him - but you never really knew, with Takai. She could be very affectionate when alone with him and then she’d go back to being normal Takai, colder towards him. Maybe she’d just changed her mind.

Maybe she’d been eaten. Or chained up and bludgeoned to death with a metal pipe.

He didn’t keep track of days so easily any more. It could have been just a couple of weeks since he last saw her, but he was pretty sure it was longer than that. A month or even longer. He and Mizusawa had found out some time ago that the team wasn’t using their old base now. That made sense, when the two of them knew where it was. It also meant that Mamoru couldn’t go to see if Takai was there. He’d begun to wonder where else he should look and whether to confide in Mizusawa; but then Mizusawa beat him to it.

“Mamoru, have you seen Takai?”

Mamoru tensed. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he just didn’t answer.

“She hasn’t been back here for a while … but you didn’t mention it. I thought you might know where she is.” Mizusawa was looking at him curiously, now, “Is everything OK?”

Mamoru said, “Takai didn’t want anyone to know she was here. Now she’ll be angry with me.”

“No, she won’t.” Mizusawa put his hand on Mamoru’s shoulder. “I wanted to know where you were going every night. You were kind of … obvious. It’s OK, I spoke to her. She wasn’t upset with you.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“No. But I’ve been in touch with Shidou-san, and he says the team hasn’t seen her for more than a month. They’re getting worried about her. If _you_ haven’t seen her –”

Mamoru burst into tears. He was absolutely convinced that something terrible had happened to Takai and he would never see her again. He clung and wailed away into the front of Mizusawa’s shirt. It occurred to him to wonder why Mizusawa had spoken to Shidou after so long; but he was more concerned with Takai’s safety, “Where is she?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think any of us would harm her,” said Mizusawa.

The survivors of Tlaloc were Mamoru’s family, now. They understood him, they wanted the same thing. He couldn’t imagine why any one of them would want to hurt Takai. There were other Amazons out there, though, “You don’t _think_? What if she’s dead?”

“We don’t know that,” said Mizusawa. This meant that he thought she probably _was_ dead, but he was trying not to make Mamoru sad, “We can look for her. We don’t have a reason to give up hope yet.”

Mizusawa assigned someone to go with Mamoru each day and look anywhere that Takai might plausibly be. She’d once shown him the location of the children’s home she grew up in, where she worked before she was hired as an exterminator. Mamoru waited outside until the children came out to play. There was no Takai, and then the children went indoors again, and an old lady shouted at him and threatened to call the police if he didn’t go away. After that he was expected to go to get food with the others whilst Mizusawa led the search for her.

When Mamoru went to sleep at night he saw different scenes in his head of her dead or dying. Takai chained up, being beaten in front of him while he could do nothing to save her. Takai lying on the ground, Ryuusuke tearing out handfuls of her entrails and stuffing them into his mouth. Waking up beside Takai to find that she wasn’t breathing. In Mamoru’s heart of hearts, he did not believe they would find her alive; but one day, Mizusawa proved him wrong.

“Mamoru. I think I know where she is.”

***

Mizusawa didn’t explain how he’d found out that she was at Nozama, and Mamoru didn’t ask. Mizusawa did not like talking about his mother. Evidently she hadn’t given permission for them to visit, otherwise they wouldn’t be sneaking in through an entrance intended for warehouse deliveries. Hidaka had done something to the security system so they could get in. She was very good with computers, even powerful ones like Nozama had, and used to work in something called White Hats. Mamoru didn’t know what that meant but he listened to her talk about it because it would be rude to interrupt her. She and the others with them didn’t come inside; only he and Mizusawa went. The rest would stay here, Mizusawa explained, “in case.”

“In case what?” Mamoru said, but Mizusawa was already making his way inside, and Mamoru had to go to keep up with him.

Mamoru remembered spending a day here with the rest of the extermination team, waiting on standby outside the labs whilst Nozama’s scientists examined an Amazon. It might have been the same room, or the room Takayama had been in. He couldn’t be sure. Everything in this building looked the same to him anyway; but it turned out they needn’t have worried. Only one of the labs was occupied, which might be why they hadn’t locked the door.

“We just want to see our friend,” Mizusawa said, when he and Mamoru were asked to leave. “That’s not a problem, is it? We won’t be long. After all, we have _other_ friends waiting for us outside.”

Mamoru looked from Mizusawa, to the faces of the Nozama scientists, and back again. They seemed to be very angry; but he could see Takai now, lying on an examination table. She was sleeping peacefully, her skin a little pale, although she otherwise seemed fine. He went to re-settle the blanket over her, and that was when he noticed how distended her stomach was. She looked like she might have swallowed an elephant whole. It couldn’t be comfortable for her at all.

“Takai?” Mamoru shook her shoulder, worried for her, “Takai?”

Takai blinked at him. Her lips opened and moved wordlessly, then closed again as she laid back down against the pillow.

“Could you step aside, please.” One of the Nozama team moved to separate Mamoru from her, “Miss Takai is being prepared for delivery.”

“Delivery?” Mamoru began to panic. How was she supposed to travel anywhere in this condition? He’d got here just in time, “You can’t send her away! Please!”

“What’s wrong?” That was Mizusawa, who was beside him in an instant.

“Takai is being delivered somewhere! We have to stop them!”

Mizusawa looked down at her, and his eyes widened. “What? Are you sure?”

“Miss Takai has been induced and is being prepared for delivery,” the orderly repeated. “She has a high risk of haemorrhaging and the next stage is critical. Now if you’ll please –”

Mamoru was familiar with the word _haemorrhaging_. He was sure that it meant something bad, but he couldn’t remember what. The examiners were all coming back now, crowding around Takai, picking up clipboards and metal implements and other things. Even though they were talking very loudly, she didn’t stir. She must have been tired.

Mizusawa drew him aside, “It’s OK. Let them take care of her.”

 “What are we going to do? We can’t just let them take her away.” Mamoru’s heart was beating so fast in his chest that he could hardly get the words out.

“Nozomi isn’t going anywhere. She’s going to have a baby.”

Mamoru smiled, bright and wide, “Really? Wow!” It would certainly explain why she was so big. Takai liked children, so she would be very happy about a new baby. Mamoru was sure she would make a good mother – wait.

“Yeah,” said Mizusawa. “Didn’t you two think this might happen?”

It made sense. Mamoru knew the link between cause and effect where babies were concerned. But Takai had never mentioned the subject, and he had just never thought about it. One thing he did know was that babies were supposed to take a long time to grow: nine months, to be specific. Surely it hadn’t been _that_ long, since he’d last seen her? Mizusawa had said she’d been missing for about a month. Mamoru distinctly remembered the last time Takai had visited. He’d got a pretty good look at her, and was quite sure her stomach had been flat at that time. How had she grown so big so fast…?

He went back to her side, ignoring the cries of the Nozama staff, wrenching free as someone tried to pull him away from her - “Takai!”

Takai didn’t open her eyes.

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it? Why didn’t you tell me we were going to have a baby?”

Maybe she hadn’t known, if the baby had grown so quickly. Mamoru would ask her about it when she woke up. He could see something moving inside her now, a little imprint of something showing through the flesh. It was making a rather large dent, whatever it was. A foot? It didn’t look like a foot, but Mamoru knew that babies kicked. He’d seen pregnant women inviting people to touch the bump.

“The baby’s kicking!” He rushed to put his hand on Takai’s swollen stomach, to feel the stirrings of life inside it. He still could not quite believe this was _their_ baby, his and Takai’s, that they were having a baby at all. Until now, he’d had very little idea of the miracle of birth, “Mizusawa, look!”

Mizusawa’s head jerked. His eyes were wide, “Mamoru, I don’t think –”

Mamoru never found out _what_ Mizusawa didn’t think because Takai was gasping, now, wheezing low in her throat as if her lungs were burning for air. Then something green and sickeningly familiar began to spill out of her lips, spattering green across the white blanket like pond scum. It couldn’t possibly be what it looked like. Human blood was red.

“The child is preparing to eat,” said someone behind him. Mamoru wanted to ask how a baby that hadn’t even been born could eat anything, but Mizusawa was already dragging him towards the doorway. The scientists drew a curtain around Takai’s bed so that Mamoru couldn’t see her any more.

“Mizusawa, we have to help her!” Mizusawa was so strong. Even in human form he was so strong that Mamoru couldn’t pull or twist or fight his way out of Mizusawa’s grip, “She’s going to die!”

“They won’t hurt her. They’re just going to deliver the baby,” said Mizusawa. His arms were strong too and held Mamoru up as Mamoru collapsed against him.

“You don’t understand, she’s going to _die_ … the baby …” Mamoru’s sobs weren’t loud enough to drown out the sounds coming from the other side of the room. She seemed to have stopped choking now; instead he could hear a low, dull, dazed groaning. It sounded as if she wanted to wake up but couldn’t fight her way through the haze of sleep.

“The baby might be OK,” said Mizusawa. He never promised that something was going to work out if he didn’t think it would. He didn’t ever say things just so that Mamoru wouldn’t be upset, “Maybe Nozomi will be, too. I think – I think she’s going to be like us now.”

“What?” Mamoru thought of her spewing out green. That could have been the baby’s blood (which wouldn’t be good, either), but –

“You’re an Amazon. Your baby is an Amazon. She’s had Amazon cells multiplying inside her.” Mamoru began to cry again, and Mizusawa held onto him, “We can’t leave the room, otherwise they might lock us out. Try not to cry too much. You don’t want Nozomi to worry, do you?” That just made Mamoru sob even harder. Mizusawa tried again, “It won’t be long now. Then you can see the baby.”

After a while Mamoru quieted down into tired little sobs. His head started to feel numb, which happened sometimes after he cried a lot, and then his legs started to feel numb because he was kneeling on a hard tiled floor. He was lost in the dull nothingness of being, until a sharp cry cut through it.

The baby didn’t sound like anything Mamoru had ever heard. He didn’t sound like _anything_ Mamoru had ever heard; but, as it turned out, Mamoru’s son was healthy. He had ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes and Mamoru loved him at first sight.

“You have to hold him like this,” said Mizusawa quickly. He took hold of Mamoru’s arms, guiding them – “That’s it. Support his head.”

The baby was slippery and Mamoru was fearful of dropping him, but managed to keep a grip. The tiny boy’s eyes were closed and his skin greyish; still wet with traces of green blood. He had very strong lungs. When he opened his mouth and cried louder, Mamoru saw that the baby already had teeth. They looked very sharp, and there was blood on them, and a little of something else – was that flesh? Mamoru made a mental note that he and Takai would have to be very careful to keep the baby from biting himself. There was, after all, a good reason why babies were usually born _without_ their teeth. As far as he knew, there hadn’t ever been another human-Amazon baby. This might be the first one.

Takai was sleeping again. She wore a hospital gown and had the blankets over her again but he’d seen surgical implements, glistening with green blood, before the examiners took them away. She must have had an operation to take the baby out. He’d grown inside her stomach, after all, and he had no way of getting out on his own.

One of the examiners moved forward, taking hold of Takai’s wrist. Mamoru did not like the Nozama staff touching her. He saw red marks there; raw and inflamed as if the skin had been rubbing against something. There were indents that looked like the strap of a watch. He hadn’t been aware she wore one, but evidently it was too tight for her. She would have to find a better one that fit properly.

“Can we go home?” he asked Mizusawa.

“Nozomi needs medical care, and they’ll want to make sure the baby is OK. Then she can live with us, if she wants to.”

“Will Nozama let her go?” Mamoru held the baby close, listening to his son’s gentle breathing. It was very soothing. Little babies slept a lot but Mamoru knew that they were rather active at night. He wondered what the others would say when he got back to their camp. He and Takai might have to sleep away from everyone else for a while. They could discuss it later. “What if they take the baby away?”

“They’re not going to do that,” said Mizusawa. “When we were waiting, I called Hidaka and Shunya.”

“Did you?” Mamoru hadn’t heard that, but then he hadn’t been paying much attention. Waiting to find out what would happen to Takai and their child had seemed like an eternity.

“Well, yeah. We can’t leave them standing outside all day. Everyone’s still waiting for us … and I thought we might need a little back-up.”

“Excuse me.” One of the Nozama team came over to Mamoru, “We would like to examine the baby further.”

“He’s coming home with _me_ ,” said Mamoru. “He’s my son. He’s going to stay with us. Right, Mizusawa?”

The baby snuffled in his sleep. Mamoru pressed a little kiss to his son’s forehead and was rewarded with a low growl.

***

They were a family now: Mamoru and Takai and the baby.

She and the baby belonged to his Amazon family too. The others seemed to accept her now.  She’d been on the wrong side of Tlaloc, for them, so perhaps it was to be expected that they hadn’t exactly welcomed her with arms wide open. That seemed to have come to an end. Most of them had grown to like her, as he knew they would. She was good at fighting and scavenging.

Takai didn’t ever talk about the extermination team now. She must miss them, as Mamoru did; but she didn’t mention them, so neither did he. Now she spent every day with him, and every night too. Mamoru loved lying beside her, feeling her warmth, taking it in turns to feed their son from a plastic bottle. He was pretty sure that the baby was supposed to feed from Takai somehow, but she refused to do this.

“For fuck’s sake,” she’d said. (Mamoru wished she wouldn’t swear in front of their son.) “He’s already tried to eat his way out of my stomach. I’m not taking any chances.”

Mamoru had tried to explain that the baby wouldn’t want to eat Takai, now that she didn’t smell like food any more. They would need to think of a name soon; they couldn’t keep referring to their child as _he_ or _the baby_. Takai was his mother, so she should name him. Mamoru would bother her about it later.

The baby’s soft gurgles turned into a snarl. Mamoru was slowly learning what different noises indicated. There was a different sort of snarl when the baby needed changing (which was usually obvious anyway) and a deeper noise when he was hungry. This time it seemed he wanted to be picked up and played with. Mamoru would take him for a little walk before Takai got back. The baby would have to be wrapped up warm, though. His skin was turning slightly pinker but hadn’t lost its grey-green tinge, and Mamoru didn’t want to take any chances.

His son was perfect.


End file.
